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Max Olson, ESPN Staff Writer
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty continued his record-chasing run to Heisman Trophy front-runner status Saturday night in the No. 21 Broncos’ 62-30 win over visiting Utah State.
Jeanty surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season on just his 90th carry and produced 186 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 13 attempts in the first half of the blowout win. He tied an FBS record in needing just five games to achieve 1,000 rushing yards.
“First off, Ashton Jeanty? Best player in the country. Next question,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said.
The junior running back has rushed for 1,031 yards and 16 touchdowns on 10.9 yards per carry for the 4-1 Broncos and is now averaging 206.2 rushing yards per game. His 1,031 yards through five games ranks eighth most in FBS history, according to ESPN Research.
Jeanty turned his first carry versus Utah State into a 63-yard touchdown. He then scored on a 75-yard run early in the second quarter, eclipsing the Mountain West Conference’s single-season record for 70-yard rushing TDs in a season with his fourth. Jeanty has seven rushes of 60 or more yards on the campaign, tied for most in FBS in a single season over the past 20 years.
Boise State did not play Jeanty in the second half after it took a 49-17 lead into halftime. He also sat out the second half of the Broncos’ 56-14 home win over FCS Portland State on Sept. 21.
“It’s all about the team, and Ashton is the same way,” Danielson said. “We protect him. We’re going to be smart with Ashton because of how vital he is to our team, and we need to make sure we get other guys reps in there. Also, at that point, I don’t know what his rush yards were, but we know he had enough.”
The Broncos’ offense was dominant regardless, rolling to a win in its Mountain West opener with the program’s first 60-plus point performance since 2018. Quarterback Maddux Madsen threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, and Boise State finished with 599 total yards against the 1-4 Aggies.
Through five games, Jeanty is on pace with Barry Sanders’ record-breaking 1988 season. Sanders had 1,002 rushing yards on 130 carries through the first five games of his Heisman-winning season at Oklahoma State and went on to finish with an FBS-record 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Jeanty emerged as the favorite to win the Heisman and was listed at 2.5-1 by ESPN BET on Saturday night. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had been the betting favorite entering the day, but his odds lengthened to 12-1 by ESPN BET after Vanderbilt upset the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide earlier Saturday.
“I believe that he’s going to be in New York for the Heisman,” Danielson said of Jeanty. “I believe that, because I see him work. Because I see the teammate he is. This isn’t a flash in the pan.”